September 2016

Treating Experimental Arthritis with the Innate Immune Inhibitor Interleukin-37 Reduces Joint and Systemic Inflammation

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2016; DOI 10.1093/rheumatology/kew325

IL-37, a member of the IL-1 family, has recently been characterised as a fundamental inhibitor of innate inflammation. This study examines the effects of recombinant IL-37 on joint inflammation and pathology in a mouse model of arthritis, and also explores its potential in the treatment of human joint inflammation.In this mouse model of experimental arthritis, short-term, low-dose treatment with IL-37 suppressed joint and systemic inflammation. Wild-type mice received three intraperitoneal doses...

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May 2016

Effects of Tofacitinib and other DMARDs on Lipid Profiles in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Implications for the Rheumatologist

Semin Arthritis Rheum 2016;46:71–80

Increased inflammation and CV disease have been associated with lower total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) levels in RA patients – an apparent paradox to what is observed in the general population. Previously, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels have been associated with increased risk of CV, and an inverse relationship observed with levels of HDL-C level and C-reactive protein (CRP).This analysis of the literature with regard to studies using DMARDs in RA patie...

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March 2016

Comparison of adding tocilizumab to methotrexate with switching to tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with inadequate response to methotrexate: 52-week results from a prospective, randomised, controlled study (SURPRISE study)

Ann Rheum Dis 2016 Jan 5 DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-208426 [Epub ahead of print

MTX is the primary drug in RA management because of its long-term effectiveness and safety profile; however, in patients who have insufficient response (IR) to MTX, treatment adjustments are needed – either to combine a bDMARD with MTX or to switch to a bDMARD from MTX. In the SURPRISE study, the efficacy and safety of adding TCZ to MTX (ADD-ON) or switching MTX to TCZ (SWITCH) was evaluated in 233 patients with moderate to highly active RA who were randomised 1:1. Both treatment groups were adm...

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October 2015

Tofacitinib regulates synovial inflammation in psoriatic arthritis, inhibiting STAT activation and induction of negative feedback inhibition

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2015 Sep 9. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-207201

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis (Ps) and characterised by synovitis and progressive destruction of articular cartilage and bone. Recently developed agents for PsA target IL12p40, IL-6 and IL-17, several of which signal through the JAK family of receptor-associated tyrosine kinases. Tofacitinib is a drug of the JAK inhibitor class and is currently approved for the treatment of RA in 27 countries. This study evaluated the effect of tofacitini...

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Calprotectin more accurately discriminates the disease status of rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving tocilizumab than acute phase reactants

Rheumatology. 2015 Aug 4. doi:pii: kev251. [Epub ahead of print]

Calprotectin is a member of the S100 protein family that has strong pro-inflammatory effects that reflect local ongoing inflammation rather than systemic response, due to its release at local inflammation sites. High calprotectin levels have been found in SF and serum from RA patients and correlate with disease activity. This study analysed the accuracy of calprotectin compared to acute phase response in discriminating the clinical disease status of RA patients receiving TCZ. A clinical assessme...

June 2015

TNF-α and IL-6 differentially regulate Dkk-1 in the inflamed arthritic joint

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015 May 4. doi: 10.1002/art.39183. [Epub ahead of print]

Different inflammatory joint diseases have distinct patterns of bone damage, but the molecular pathways determining each one remains poorly defined. This study investigates the wingless (Wnt)-signalling pathway, by analysing the expression of Dkk-1 (an inhibitor of the Wnt pathway) and its regulation by the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 in SpA versus RA inflamed peripheral joints.Findings from the study show an inverse correlation of Dkk-1 with IL-6 in vivo and a differential regulat...

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January 2015

Potential Mechanisms Leading to the Abnormal Lipid Profile in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Versus Healthy Volunteers and Reversal by Tofacitinib

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(3):616-25.

Active RA is associated with changes in both high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol as well as changes in the level and function of several HDL-associated proteins, yet the pathways and mechanisms involved with systemic inflammation altered lipid metabolism have not been determined. In addition, treatments for active RA are known to modify lipid metabolism, such as increasing circulating cholesterol levels. In the clinical development programme, a proportion of tofacitinib-treated patien...

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IL-6 stimulates intestinal epithelial proliferation and repair after injury

PLoS One. 2014 Dec 5;9(12):e114195. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114195. eCollection 2014.

IL-6 is an inflammatory cytokine known to contribute to a number of autoimmune diseases such as RA. Therapies targeting the soluble IL-6 receptor have now become effective treatments for RA. However, one unforeseen, yet rare, potential complication of anti-IL-6 therapy is bowel perforation. Yet within the intestine, IL-6 protects intestinal epithelial cells from apoptosis during prolonged inflammation.

The authors hypothesized that IL-6 may have beneficial properties in wound response/rep...

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December 2014

The JAK inhibitor tofacitinib suppresses synovial JAK1-STAT signalling in rheumatoid arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis. 2014 Nov 14. pii: annrheumdis-2014-206028. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-206028. [Epub ahead of print]

Targeting intracellular pathways such as JAK/STAT represents a novel approach to the treatment of RA. Tofacitinib is an oral JAK inhibitor, proven to be effective in the treatment of RA, yet the pathways affected by tofacitinib and the effects on gene expression in situ are unknown. In this study, Boyle et al. tested the hypothesis that tofacitinib targets cytokine signalling critical to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid synovitis by investigating tofacitinib effects on synovial pathobiology.

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Lipid profile changes in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis treated with biologics and tofacitinib in randomized clinical trials: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(1):117–127

Systemic inflammation, reflected by high levels of C-reactive protein and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, has been identified as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the most important cause of death in RA and SpA. Studies with TNF antagonists have given contradictory results on cardiovascular risk. As such, this systemic literature search aimed to analyse lipid changes in RA and SpA subjects treated with biologics or tofacitinib in randomized clinical trials.

The s...

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